Spaceflight in the Era of Aero-space Planes

Spaceflight in the Era of Aero-space Planes PDF Author: Russell James Hannigan
Publisher: Krieger Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
This work deals with the future aero-space launchers - reusable launch vehicles that are operated like aircraft - from the integrated perspective of the political, technical and economic issues that drive their development. Case study analyses include NASP, Sanger, HOTOL and Delta Clipper.

Spaceflight in the Era of Aero-space Planes

Spaceflight in the Era of Aero-space Planes PDF Author: Russell James Hannigan
Publisher: Krieger Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
This work deals with the future aero-space launchers - reusable launch vehicles that are operated like aircraft - from the integrated perspective of the political, technical and economic issues that drive their development. Case study analyses include NASP, Sanger, HOTOL and Delta Clipper.

Spaceflight in the Shuttle Era and Beyond

Spaceflight in the Shuttle Era and Beyond PDF Author: Valerie Neal
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300227981
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
An exploration of the changing conceptions of the Space Shuttle program and a call for a new vision of spaceflight. The thirty years of Space Shuttle flights saw contrary changes in American visions of space. Valerie Neal, who has spent much of her career examining the Space Shuttle program, uses this iconic vehicle to question over four decades’ worth of thinking about, and struggling with, the meaning of human spaceflight. She examines the ideas, images, and icons that emerged as NASA, Congress, journalists, and others sought to communicate rationales for, or critiques of, the Space Shuttle missions. At times concurrently, the Space Shuttle was billed as delivery truck and orbiting science lab, near-Earth station and space explorer, costly disaster and pinnacle of engineering success. The book’s multidisciplinary approach reveals these competing depictions to examine the meaning of the spaceflight enterprise. Given the end of the Space Shuttle flights in 2011, Neal makes an appeal to reframe spaceflight once again to propel humanity forward. “Neal may be the one person who knows the space shuttle program better than the astronauts who flew this iconic vehicle. Her book casts new light on the program, exploring its cultural significance through a thoughtful analysis. As one who lived this history, I gained much from her broader perspective and deep insights.”—Kathryn D. Sullivan, retired NASA astronaut and former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “A much needed look at how to create a cultural narrative for human spaceflight that resonates with millennials rather than the Apollo generation. Quite valuable.”—Marcia Smith, Editor, SpacePolicyOnline.com

Single Stage to Orbit

Single Stage to Orbit PDF Author: Andrew J. Butrica
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801873386
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
While the glories and tragedies of the space shuttle make headlines and move the nation, the story of the shuttle forms an inseparabe part of a lesser-known but no less important drama—the search for a reusable single-stage-to-orbit rocket. Here an award-winning student of space science, Andrew J. Butrica, examines the long and tangled history of this ambitious concept, from it first glimmerings in the 1920s, when technicians dismissed it as unfeasible, to its highly expensive heyday in the midst of the Cold War, when conservative-backed government programs struggled to produce an operational flight vehicle. Butrica finds a blending of far-sighted engineering and heavy-handed politics. To the first and oldest idea—that of the reusable rocket-powered single-stage-to-orbit vehicle—planners who belonged to what President Eisenhower referred to as the military-industrial complex.added experimental ("X"), "aircraft-like" capabilties and, eventually, a "faster, cheaper, smaller" managerial approach. Single Stage to Orbit traces the interplay of technology, corporate interest, and politics, a combination that well served the conservative space agenda and ultimately triumphed—not in the realization of inexpensive, reliable space transport—but in a vision of space militarization and commercialization that would appear settled United States policy in the early twenty-first century. -- D. M. Ashford

Beyond Blue Skies

Beyond Blue Skies PDF Author: Chris Petty
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496223551
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
In 1945 some experts still considered the so-called sound barrier an impenetrable wall, while winged rocket planes remained largely relegated to science fiction. But soon a series of unique rocket-powered research aircraft and the dedicated individuals who built, maintained, and flew them began to push the boundaries of flight in aviation’s quest to move ever higher, ever faster, toward the unknown. Beyond Blue Skies examines the thirty-year period after World War II during which aviation experienced an unprecedented era of progress that led the United States to the boundaries of outer space. Between 1946 and 1975, an ancient dry lakebed in California’s High Desert played host to a series of rocket-powered research aircraft built to investigate the outer reaches of flight. The western Mojave’s Rogers Dry Lake became home to Edwards Air Force Base, NASA’s Flight Research Center, and an elite cadre of test pilots. Although one of them—Chuck Yeager—would rank among the most famous names in history, most who flew there during those years played their parts away from public view. The risks they routinely accepted were every bit as real as those facing NASA’s astronauts, but no magazine stories or free Corvettes awaited them—just long days in a close-knit community in the High Desert. The role of not only the test pilots but the engineers, aerodynamicists, and support staff in making supersonic flight possible has been widely overlooked. Beyond Blue Skies charts the triumphs and tragedies of the rocket-plane era and the unsung efforts of the men and women who made amazing achievements possible.

Spaceflight Revolution

Spaceflight Revolution PDF Author: David Ashford
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 1783261234
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
A revolution in spaceflight is likely soon with the prospect of everyday access to orbit within fifteen years. Costly launch vehicles based on ballistic missiles will be replaced by ‘spaceplanes’, using technology that exists today. In five years' time, a prototype could be built, and with a further ten years of detailed development, the design could approach airliner maturity, reducing the cost of sending people into space some one thousand times to around US$20,000. Spaceplane development has, in effect, been suppressed by entrenched thinking and short-term vested interests. But the present monopoly of large government space agencies is becoming unsupportable, and the market that understands the very real opportunities for space travel will be reaching critical mass in the near future. This book examines these issues and shows why space tourism will one day become the single largest business in space, and how astronomy and environmental science will be transformed by low-cost access making possible instruments vastly larger than those of today. Contents: Past, Present, Predicted Future:Spaceplane HistoryRecent DevelopmentsWay AheadSpaceplane Potential:Spaceplane Low-Cost PotentialOrbital InfrastructureThe Spaceplane Space AgeTime Scale:Technical FeasibilitySafetyMaturityMarketDevelopment CostDesign LogicBreaking the MouldBenefitsConclusions Readership: Professionals and members of the public interested in the way ahead for space including students, academics, industrialists and managers involved in the space, aircraft and travel industries. Reviews:“… a fascinating and very readable account … This fine book will appeal to the technically minded and the romantic at heart alike.”Philip Bridle BBC Broadcaster — Astronomy and Space “In this fascinating book the author, founder of Bristol Spaceplanes argues the case clearly and very effectively … will help to dislodge entrenched thinking where it matters. Recommended, indeed essential, reading.”Spaceflight “This readable but no-frills book details how a private sector return to the 'aircraft approach' will cut launch costs enabling space tourism at a ‘reasonable’ cost. It serves as a good summary of a dynamic market that repays close watching.”Astronomy Now

Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight

Critical Issues in the History of Spaceflight PDF Author: Stephen J. Dick
Publisher: U. S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 680

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Book Description
In March 2005, the NASA History Division and the Division of Space History at the National Air and Space Museum brought together a distinguished group of scholars to consider the state of the discipline of space history. This volume is a collection of essays based on those deliberations. The meeting took place at a time of extraordinary transformation for NASA, stemming from the new Vision of Space Exploration announced by President George W. Bush in January 204: to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This Vision, in turn, stemmed from a deep reevaluation of NASA?s goals in the wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident and the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The new goals were seen as initiating a "New Age of Exploration" and were placed in the context of the importance of exploration and discovery to the American experiences. (Amazon).

The Future of Aerospace

The Future of Aerospace PDF Author: National Academy of Engineering
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309048818
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
Few technological advances have affected the lives and dreams of individuals and the operations of companies and governments as much as the continuing development of flight. From space exploration to package transport, from military transport to passenger helicopter use, from passenger jumbo jets to tilt-rotor commuter planes, the future of flying is still rapidly developing. The essays in this volume survey the state of progress along several fronts of this constantly evolving frontier. Five eminent authorities assess prospects for the future of rotary-wing aircraft, large passenger aircraft, commercial aviation, manned spaceflight, and defense aerospace in the post-Cold War era.

The X-15 Rocket Plane

The X-15 Rocket Plane PDF Author: Michelle Evans
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496229843
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description
The story of the X-15, the pioneering research flight program in the fifties and sixties, and its pilots.

Spaceplanes

Spaceplanes PDF Author: Matthew A. Bentley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387765107
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Spaceplanes From Airport to Spaceport presents a coherent, lucid, and optimistic picture of the future of the near future. Space vehicles may soon take off from international airports and refuel in space. New technologies could allow flights to take off regularly between the Earth and the Moon. The technical details presented explain precisely how all this can be accomplished within the next few decades. This book also explains why the Space Tourist market could easily become the single most important factor in the mid-term future development of space transportation. In a few years it will be possible to board a spaceplane and fly into Earth orbit, and perhaps visit a space station. Later development could include refuelling in orbit to take a tour of cislunar space. The book's solid engineering foundation will be of interest to both space exploration enthusiasts and future space travelers.

Space Flight Dynamics

Space Flight Dynamics PDF Author: Craig A. Kluever
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 111915782X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description
Thorough coverage of space flight topics with self-contained chapters serving a variety of courses in orbital mechanics, spacecraft dynamics, and astronautics This concise yet comprehensive book on space flight dynamics addresses all phases of a space mission: getting to space (launch trajectories), satellite motion in space (orbital motion, orbit transfers, attitude dynamics), and returning from space (entry flight mechanics). It focuses on orbital mechanics with emphasis on two-body motion, orbit determination, and orbital maneuvers with applications in Earth-centered missions and interplanetary missions. Space Flight Dynamics presents wide-ranging information on a host of topics not always covered in competing books. It discusses relative motion, entry flight mechanics, low-thrust transfers, rocket propulsion fundamentals, attitude dynamics, and attitude control. The book is filled with illustrated concepts and real-world examples drawn from the space industry. Additionally, the book includes a “computational toolbox” composed of MATLAB M-files for performing space mission analysis. Key features: Provides practical, real-world examples illustrating key concepts throughout the book Accompanied by a website containing MATLAB M-files for conducting space mission analysis Presents numerous space flight topics absent in competing titles Space Flight Dynamics is a welcome addition to the field, ideally suited for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students studying aerospace engineering.